Our 3rd dev interview is now here! During
Minimal had the opportunity to try the adorable game
ISEKAI-YA! developed by
Oyen Studio. In this interview, Ivan gives us a comprehensive, honest, and in-depth look into
Oyen Studio‘s development process and things we can look forward to with this lovely locally-made game. Don’t forget to
wishlist ISEKAI-YA before reading on!
1. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer this interview! Could we get a quick introduction to you, Oyen Studio, and ISEKAI-YA?
Hello everyone! I am Ivan, tech lead and founder of Oyen Studio. Coincidentally, I used to work at Mixed Realms for 2 years, before moving to more traditional software development. Recently, I am making a return to something adjacent; working on AR/VR technology in the medical field.
(Check out our interview with Mixed Realms here!)
Oyen Studio is based in Singapore, though our 2D artist is currently based in the UK. We are a ragtag team of true blue Singaporeans and the 5 of us are mutual friends. We are chasing our passion for game development on top of our day jobs, but we can’t eat passion or exposure… So give us funding please, anyone.
Isekai-ya is a narrative game that focuses on the people, setting and of course; food and drinks. An artist friend of mine asked for my help to develop a dating sim visual novel of anthropomorphic food back in 2020 but the idea sat idle untill 2024.
As we developed it; it morphed into a management style, cooking mama hybrid. That was the first prototype for Isekai-ya. This was sadly dropped after much consideration and feedback, but we tried adapting the approach to have a narrative focus where we can use the setting to our advantage.
2. What is Oyen Studio’s founding story?
I took a gap year in 2024, burnt out from the endless development cycles, poor management, scapegoating and no end in sight. I took up teaching for 2024, a welcome change of pace; and there was time to consider what to do for the future. So I went “it’s now or never.” It was sort of my last act of rebellion; to be true to everything I stand for and make that difference I envisioned. These are big dreams and words from a studio with no income or repute, but we are here and we want to create pawsibilities!
3. What are some key focus areas for ISEKAI-YA’s development currently?
Right now, we are taking some time to refocus after Doujin Market. It is too early to focus on getting the polish on, given the incomplete state Isekai-ya is in.
I would say that right now we are working to get some new features woven into the narrative to make it stand out from other visual novels. Of course an otherworld tavern needs more food and drinks varieties too; so that is something we are actively expanding on.
4. ISEKAI-YA sounds like it will feature a wide cast of characters from different backgrounds! How will the various races influence gameplay?
I would say to put away any preconceived notions you might have. The elves/humans/orcs that you see in the media often shoehorns them into stereotypes; and we are looking to break that with our affectionate, quirky writing. I think Marcille from Dungeon Meishi was a breath of fresh air in terms of elf characters; so do expect some subversion/aversion from the norm for Isekai-ya.
5. What game engine is ISEKAI-YA designed on and why?
Isekai-ya is developed in Godot, while our 3D assets are created in Blender. It was a conscious decision on my part, despite having experience developing in Unity. This was due to their plan to introduce a runtime fee in 2023. Game development as a business is uncertain in many ways. The last thing we need is a company having a stranglehold on our income, changing the terms and conditions at their whim. So where possible, Oyen Studio will use FOSS (Free, Open Source Software).
Godot’s responsiveness enables us to iterate prototypes quickly with less downtime. The team is still rather unfamiliar with it, but the pace of learning and development is expected to pick up more rapidly than if we were to have gone with Unreal or Unity.
There are some cool games being made with Godot now too! PVKK: Planetenverteidigungskanonenkommandant, Buckshot Roulette, and Dome Keeper, just to name a few.
6. What are some of the team’s favourite Isekai media? And did any of them have a strong influence on ISEKAI-YA?
There’s some heavy influence from Dungeon Meshi (not an isekai though). Funnily enough, I consume a lot of Isekai media but they are nothing like Isekai-ya. The closest one would be Isekai Shokudo, but even then it’s nothing crazy compared to the dishes Senshi cooks up for the party.
That said, we want to create our own vision of another world. It would be boring to go to a new place just to eat the familiar food. Imagine travelling all the way to Norway or Korea, and then saying you want to eat chicken rice. Shame, really.
The fact that this question exists validates our direction. We had visitors at Doujin Market and Indie Jam mention some titles like Campfire Cooking, Dungeon Meshi; and as we speak, we are trying to see what other aspects of popular titles we can incorporate.
Also not isekai material per se, but I love how the Star Ocean series is executed with its blend of sci-fi and fantasy. Go play Star Ocean The Second Story R if you have not!
(P.S. My favourite isekai anime is Gēto Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri. I also love the Saga of Tanya the Evil. They are all military themed, but it’s a palette cleanser from the standard fantasy isekais for me.)
(P.S.S. Our project manager Joel love Mushoku Tensei)
7. How will the flora and fauna of the ISEKAI-YA world come into play?
Think exotic and wacky. With new cultures, it may take some getting used to the local cuisine. They might eat primarily giant worms, cut into steaks; though they swear it tastes like chicken. Who knows, maybe you’ll find literal pasta growing from plants. There’s not much to show now, but do keep a look out as we add more content in preparation for release.
8. What benefits and/or challenges come with being an indie game dev studio in Singapore?
I would be yapping all day if I were to deep dive into it, but I will give praise where praise is due. The process of starting and registering a business is super easy for locals; and Singapore is blessed with fair but sweltering weather. Thank god for air conditioning. Technology is easily accessible, and we have talented people here who are driven and passionate.
That said, everything else past the setup stage (running, surviving, profitability, etc) is a challenge. The cost of living is higher than our neighbours, and wages are also high locally. Rent is high as well, and it is something that has been making headlines lately. For now, Oyen Studio will not be impacted by it as HDB/URA has made it possible to run some businesses at home via the Home Office Scheme.
The lack of funding, incubation spaces, and support has made it increasingly difficult to make a concerted effort to make any headway; be it as individuals, a company or as a country. (RIP PIXEL and Game Solution Center.)
That said, the community tries to do what it can, and I want to contribute to the cause as well! I’ve joined up with some fellow devs to run a LearnX community: Game Dev Guild. With the blessings from the National Library Board (NLB) which I am grateful for, we are hosting sessions like lessons on game programming, playtest sessions. These are currently being held at Toa Payoh Library regularly, so keep an eye out when we put out any notices!
Simply put, Singapore is a very KPI/number centric country. I understand why things are run this way, but a part of me wishes it was not. Big companies fail too, so why not put your faith in the local, little guys?
9. What kind of gaming experience do you hope players of ISEKAI-YA will have?
I am a big fan of Va-11 Hall-a. I have played a fair amount of visual novels, including some oldies like Analogue: A Hate Story. They all have interesting takes and narrative mechanics. With games like Va-11 Hall-a, Coffee Talk and Hookah Haze, you start to see a direction that blends with IRL elements where people can chill and enjoy what they love.
Everyone loves food, which is why there are so many food themed games coming out, so essentially we’d love to make Isekai-ya a sort of cozy, relatable, and engaging experience that everyone can enjoy.
10. Where can we subscribe to the progress and news about ISEKAI-YA?
I’ll be honest, we don’t have a marketing/social media person so news can be delayed. But do wishlist/follow the game on Steam as that’s where the latest content will be! But on the off chance you want to, we also have Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram and Facebook! (Links to which will be on our website!)
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Thank you so much Ivan for the in-depth responses and insight! Let’s look forward to the release of ISEKAI-YA!